VanCanWin

Retirees’ Requiem
1st edition: Season 68
 
As we close the door on Season 68, it’s sadly time to say goodbye to some players that decided to hang their skates. This article intends on being an hommage to these players from the Season 61 draft class that made the choice to stop their careers short or those from the Season 62 draft class that played until they couldn't take it anymore, reaching the maximum of 8 full seasons. To avoid having to rank them by career successes, the recent retirees featured in this article were ordered alphabetically.

 
Podrick Cast
S69 Hall of Fame Inductee
 
The list starts strong, as our first retiree is none other than Podrick Cast, who's seen as a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer by his peers. Cast has accomplished more in his career than every other retiree not named Matt Thompson on this list, though a case could be made for him to go down in history as the better of the two. The British centre's career began in Riga after the Reign used the 3rd overall pick in the Season 61 Entry Draft on him. He spent the first six seasons of his career in Latvia, where he formed a dangerous forward pair with fellow Season 61 draftee Edwin Preencarnacion (6th overall pick). Their chemistry was undeniable from the early days and it shows in both players' career stats, as they averaged 98 goals and 113 assists per season over their six seasons as the Reign's - and arguably the league's - most proficient teammates of the early-to-mid 60s. The pair was broken up during the offseason following both their 6th season when Cast was traded to the Moscow Menace, managed by his GM alias Victor Alfredsson. His success continued in Russia, as he notched his 6th 40-goal season and 4th 100-point season in Season 67.
 
Over the course of his career, Podrick Cast established himself as one of the best offensive stars in the history of the game. His 79-goal, 174-point campaign in Season 62 stands as the 3rd best season in the history of the league, both in terms of goals and points. He ranks 15th in career points with 846 and 19th in career goals with 379, only 21 short of the 400 plateau only surpassed by 7 players. Given his career totals, you'd expect his personal trophy case to be filled to the brink, but sharing the ice with two other generational talents in Matt Thompson and Gabriel McAllister often forced him to settle for runner-up mentions in awards voting, limiting his career haul. He still claimed a respectable total of six awards - a Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy, 2 Scotty Campbell Trophies, a Brett Slobodzian Trophy, a Mike Szatkowski Trophy and a Kevin Brooks Trophy - on top of a Continental Cup win with Riga in Season 63.

 
Ryuu Crimson
 
Ryuu Crimson was recruited by the Riga Reign with the 9th pick of the S62 Entry Draft. He spent his first pro season down in the minors before joining the Latvian franchise in S63. The sharpshooting winger developed well during his extra season with the Halifax 21st, which paved the way for him to have a great rookie season during which he scored 22 goals and added 40 assists. His first playoffs will probably be the reason we will remember him for a long time, as he exploded for 13 points, including 6 goals, in 11 games. His team captured the Continental Cup and he got to share the Daisuke Kanou Trophy, awarded to the playoffs MVP, with opposing goaltender Norris Stopko. He is the only rookie to win the award ever.
 
His best season statline, however, came two seasons later, when he sniped 41 shots past opposing goaltenders and added 48 assists, totalling 89 points. Following this third season in Riga, Crimson was sent to Davos, where he continued to post impressive numbers. Over six seasons, the winger scored 419 points, just 13 short of the elusive point-per-game pace, but eventually felt like he needed to move on from hockey and decided to call it a career.

 
Shawn Glade
 
Every player has a different objective as to what they wish to accomplish before hanging their skates. While some unrealistically want to go down in history as the best VHLer ever, some others have more reasonable goals: win some individual awards, make great connections with teammates, etc. For Shawn Glade, in retrospect, the objective he set for himself is crystal clear: he wanted Continental Cups. Following two VHLM seasons in which his teams were Founder's Cup were finalists (Yukon in S61, Halifax in S62), he joined a very competitive Riga Reign squad. He may have been a mere depth defenseman at this point of his career, but success found him, as his team beat the Calgary Wranglers in the Continental Cup finals.
 
He spent the first half of his career with Riga, establishing himself as a strong two-way defenseman before he started to travel a bit to accomplish his career goal. He ended up playing for Davos, Vancouver, Davos again and Seattle, putting his name on the Continental Cup on two more occasions: with the Wolves in Season 67 and with the Bears in Season 68. When all was said and done, Glade retired with 3 rings and could easily have added 3 more, losing twice in the VHLM playoffs finals and once in the VHL, with the Wolves in Season 66. He totalled 379 points in his career, exceeding the point-per-game mark twice, and totaled just short of 1000 hits and 750 shots blocked. Equally impressive from both an offensive and defensive point of view.

 
Sebastian Ironside
 
Sebastian Ironside began his eight-season career as a GM player for the Toronto Legion. He was poised to become the team's franchise defenseman but, following the Season 63 offseason in which the team added defensive prospects Tzuyu and Robert Malenko, he decided to move from the soon-to-be overcrowded blueline and line up as a centre for the rest of his career. His second and last campaign as a defenseman was easily the better of the two, as he passed the point-per-game mark with 74 points, adding 226 hits and 196 shots blocked along the way. While he was considering as a future star on defense, it was as a forward that Ironside truly left his mark.
 
Starting in Season 64, the Canadian center scored over 100 points for four straight seasons, two with the Legion, one with the Seattle Bears and one with the Calgary Wranglers, with who he eventually finished his career. His best statistical output came in Season 63, during which he scored 56 goals and 59 assists for 116 points. He also distributed 310 hits, en route for a haul of 3 individual trophies: the Scotty Campbell, the Kevin Brooks and the Dustin Funk. Over the 8 seasons he played, Ironside was able to lift the Continental Cup once, with the Legion in S64. He wrote his name in a couple of all-time lists, finishing his career with the 78th most points with 686, 71st most assists with 423 and 27th most hits with 2053, which has us wondering how high these numbers could have been if he began his VHL career as a center instead of switching from defenseman two seasons into his career. A Hall of Fame induction isn't out of the question for Ironside, though he will probably need a couple of weaker class to eventually get the nod.

 
Robert Malenko
 
A controversial player on and off the ice, Robert Malenko has been one of the best offensive defenseman of the past decade. He was selected with the 7th pick of the Season 61 Entry Draft by the Toronto Legion. His career began explosively, as he scored 23 goals and 74 points in his rookie season, before asking for a trade out of Toronto. General Manager Travis Boychuk obliged and sent him to the Seattle Bears, where he continued his offensive growth, scoring 92 and 106 points in the next two seasons. His 21-85-106 statline in Season 64 enabled him to go home with both the Alexander Valiq and the Alexander Beketov trophies, but it wasn't enough for him to add the Sterling Labatte Trophy to his collection, which is when it all started spiralling down for the Canadian blueliner. 
 
He felt like he deserved the award more than the more defensive-minded Joseph McWolf. His motivation completely went away and he began a journey through the league, playing for four different teams in his last four seasons while scoring less impressive point totals every season. His 510 points rank him as the 60th defensemen in all-time points, but leave much to be desired, as it looked like he had the potential to maybe score over 600, which would have placed him near the top 25. His 106 points in Season 64 is the last time a defenseman hit the century mark.

 
Matt Thompson
S69 Hall of Fame Inductee
 
Alpha and Omega. Podrick Cast and Matt Thompson. I love how the alphabetical order placed them first and last because the last 8 seasons were basically all about these two. Their rivalry will be one of these things that naturally come to mind when thinking about the 60s. Just like Cast, Thompson is a Hall of Fame lock and will most likely be inducted in the next offseason, when his name appears on the ballot for the first time. Thompson's legendary career all started as a part of the Seattle Bears franchise after they selected him with the 1st overall pick of the Season 61 Entry Draft. He played his first five seasons for GM Blake Campbell in Seattle, but eventually travelled out East, joining both the Helsinki Titans and Malmö Nighthawks as a free agent in Season 66 and 68, respectively. Wherever he played though, one thing we could always count on was that MT would light the lamp often. He reached the 50-goal and 100-point plateaus in all but two seasons, scoring as much as 76 goals and 150 points in what was a very high scoring (and probably rigged) Season 62.
 
Now that it's all said and done, the Canadian winger sits at the 4th place in the all-time goalscoring list with 422, and he's first out of every player that didn't get to skate in the first ten seasons in the history of the league. His 825 points rank him 19th overall, just 4 spots behind rival Podrick Cast. He's also 42nd in the all-time hits leaderboard with 1827, cementing his reputation as one of the best power forwards to ever hit the ice in the Victory Hockey League. Thompson's career performances led to his name getting engraved on the Continental Cup once as a part of the Helsinki Titans in Season 66, and saw him be the recipient of a surrealistic haul of 13 individual trophies: 1 Scotty Campbell Trophy, 2 Brett Slobodzian Trophies, 4 Scott Boulet Trophies, 2 Mike Szatkowski Trophies, 3 Kevin Brooks Trophies and a Dustin Funk Trophy.

 
It's sad that these 7 players career had to come to an end, but that's just the way it goes. We were truly blessed these last few seasons with generational talents that left their print in all-time lists, players that will undoubtedly be inducted in the VHL Hall of Fame. With that, we finally turn the page and look forward to the start of Season 69, when new players should rise and take their game to the next level, in hopes to be recognized as one of the best once it's their time to retire.
 
Farewell, Podrick, Ryuu, Shawn, Sebastian, Robert, Matt. It was an honour to see you on the ice. Enjoy your retirement.
 
People mentioned: @Victor, @Beketov, @Tagger, @CowboyinAmerica, @ShawnGlade, @DollarAndADream, @tfong, @pennypenny, @McWolf, @Banackock
 
VSN Writer McWolf

Why Each NA team lost in the playoffs 
 
After a season in which their conference was supposed to be incredibly weak, with potentially its top team being only fifth or sixth-best overall, no one would have guessed that one of these teams would have come out on top. Let’s take a look at what went wrong for those who didn’t win and then look at what brought Seattle to glory so soon.

 

 
Calgary 
 
After squeezing past Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs on the back of three goals per game, a power-play running an efficient 24.32% and a penalty kill of 81.58%, Calgary ran in a hot and stingy Seattle defence.  The reasons Calgary lost to Seattle were simple: no one showed up. The stats that back this up are staggering.
 
Offence
In four games, Calgary was shut out twice and managed just a single goal the other two games. Hard to win games when you’re relying on your goaltender to have a shutout in order to win games.
 
Calgary was outshot this series by a tune of 149 to 84.  Not quite doubled up but close enough. I mean, how can the ice be so tilted towards one team and expect this to be a close series. 
 
Defence
Calgary’s defence couldn’t withstand the balanced offensive onslaught Seattle brought highlighted in the first game by seven goals allowed.  
 
As poor as their shots per game were, Calgary leaked an average of 37.25 shots per game. This one is especially difficult it shows that they simply were dominated on the ice and had no defensive answer to the Seattle onslaught.
 
Special Teams
After doing well in the first round, Seattle’s power play turned out to be too hot to handle for Calgary.
 
Individual Play
Brady Stropko 
After scoring nine points in the first round Brady was dominated by Seattle as he registered zero points and a -4 rating.
 
Thorny Underyew
Through the first two games, Calgary’s Thorny Underyew showed his inexperience in the face-off circle as he won just 14 of 60 draws he took. Thorny was kept out of the faceoff circle the rest of the series going just 1 for 4 the final two games.

 

 
Toronto 
 
Toronto had a very intriguing playoff run even if it only lasted four games. They initially made the playoffs against the odds as they were clearly a rebuilding team expected to finish near the bottom of the standings. Toronto was the only team marked as a “sure thing” to not advance to the next round and it was generally thought that they would do well if they just didn’t get swept. Turns out, they ended up being Seattle’s toughest opponent!
 
All the praise for a good series, yet what exactly went wrong for Toronto? They were simply not the better team. 
 
Average Talent (Top 10 skaters)
Toronto’s average player overall of 73.9 was no match for Seattle’s average overall of 77.1 especially considering that just two skaters (Rylan Peace and Tzuyu) have overalls better than the TENTH best skater for Seattle.
 
Third period
Probably the biggest reason Toronto failed to win this series against Seattle was their lack of ability to score timely goals. Out of their fourteen goals scored, just two of them came in the third period. When you are battling in close games, those timely goals are usually the difference.  They couldn’t control the ice in the third as their shots dropped as the game went later whereas Seattle’s shot attempt jumped in the third as they applied the pressure.
 
Depth 
Toronto has a couple of solid players at the top, led by shot machine Rylan Peace. Unfortunately for Toronto, only two players scored more than one goal (Glover and Kai) as the lack of depth shone through. 
 
Unlucky Rylan Peace
Being the lone offensive star on the team, all the players looked to Peace to lead the offensive charge. Rylan did his best firing six shots per game but unfortunately a total of ZERO found the back of the net. Peace led the regular season in shots with 466 but scored at just a 7.51% rate and it seemed this bad luck carried over into this series.


 

 
Vancouver
 
The Vancouver Wolves came into the playoffs as the number two seed and expectations were definitely higher than losing in the first round. While the series did go seven games and most numbers show the series was a close one, there were some worrying trends for Vancouver that ultimately led to their demise.
 
Third periods
Vancouver played good hockey for two periods. Unfortunately, whenever period three came around, Vancouver forgot how to play offence. With a total of 94 and 99 shots in the first and second periods, respectively, Vancouver only managed a lacklustre 79 in the third. Making matters worse, they failed to hit the back of the net in the third periods across all seven games. Astonishing.
 
Special teams 
Often times, hockey games are won or lost on the special teams and for this series we can certainly say the same. Vancouver’s penalty kill (18.42%) trailed Calgary’s (24.32%) somewhat significantly.
 
Backup goalie 
When league rules are broken, sanctions are expected. When Vancouver failed to play their backup goaltender for at least eight games, the repercussion was that their backup was required to play the first two games of the playoffs. Unfortunately, B-QUE just isn’t an adequate replacement goaltender and his stats showed it with a 0.881 sv% and a 4.00 GAA.
 
Struggling Sophomore
Michael Gary Scott was one of the only Vancouver players who struggled mightily through this series. Expecting big things from this second-year up-and-coming star, MGS only managed a single goal and an assist in seven games. More concerning? The thirty penalty minutes he took. If you’re not contributing while you’re on the ice and you’re putting your team down a man so often, you likely aren’t of much value to your team. 

VSN Writer VanCanWin

homer pick ?

Why Each NA team lost in the playoffs 
 
After a season in which their conference was supposed to be incredibly weak, with potentially its top team being only fifth or sixth-best overall, no one would have guessed that one of these teams would have come out on top. Let’s take a look at what went wrong for those who didn’t win and then look at what brought Seattle to glory so soon.

 

 
Calgary 
 
After squeezing past Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs on the back of three goals per game, a power-play running an efficient 24.32% and a penalty kill of 81.58%, Calgary ran in a hot and stingy Seattle defence.  The reasons Calgary lost to Seattle were simple: no one showed up. The stats that back this up are staggering.
 
Offence
In four games, Calgary was shut out twice and managed just a single goal the other two games. Hard to win games when you’re relying on your goaltender to have a shutout in order to win games.
 
Calgary was outshot this series by a tune of 149 to 84.  Not quite doubled up but close enough. I mean, how can the ice be so tilted towards one team and expect this to be a close series. 
 
Defence
Calgary’s defence couldn’t withstand the balanced offensive onslaught Seattle brought highlighted in the first game by seven goals allowed.  
 
As poor as their shots per game were, Calgary leaked an average of 37.25 shots per game. This one is especially difficult it shows that they simply were dominated on the ice and had no defensive answer to the Seattle onslaught.
 
Special Teams
After doing well in the first round, Seattle’s power play turned out to be too hot to handle for Calgary.
 
Individual Play
Brady Stropko 
After scoring nine points in the first round Brady was dominated by Seattle as he registered zero points and a -4 rating.
 
Thorny Underyew
Through the first two games, Calgary’s Thorny Underyew showed his inexperience in the face-off circle as he won just 14 of 60 draws he took. Thorny was kept out of the faceoff circle the rest of the series going just 1 for 4 the final two games.

 

 
Toronto 
 
Toronto had a very intriguing playoff run even if it only lasted four games. They initially made the playoffs against the odds as they were clearly a rebuilding team expected to finish near the bottom of the standings. Toronto was the only team marked as a “sure thing” to not advance to the next round and it was generally thought that they would do well if they just didn’t get swept. Turns out, they ended up being Seattle’s toughest opponent!
 
All the praise for a good series, yet what exactly went wrong for Toronto? They were simply not the better team. 
 
Average Talent (Top 10 skaters)
Toronto’s average player overall of 73.9 was no match for Seattle’s average overall of 77.1 especially considering that just two skaters (Rylan Peace and Tzuyu) have overalls better than the TENTH best skater for Seattle.
 
Third period
Probably the biggest reason Toronto failed to win this series against Seattle was their lack of ability to score timely goals. Out of their fourteen goals scored, just two of them came in the third period. When you are battling in close games, those timely goals are usually the difference.  They couldn’t control the ice in the third as their shots dropped as the game went later whereas Seattle’s shot attempt jumped in the third as they applied the pressure.
 
Depth 
Toronto has a couple of solid players at the top, led by shot machine Rylan Peace. Unfortunately for Toronto, only two players scored more than one goal (Glover and Kai) as the lack of depth shone through. 
 
Unlucky Rylan Peace
Being the lone offensive star on the team, all the players looked to Peace to lead the offensive charge. Rylan did his best firing six shots per game but unfortunately a total of ZERO found the back of the net. Peace led the regular season in shots with 466 but scored at just a 7.51% rate and it seemed this bad luck carried over into this series.


 

 
Vancouver
 
The Vancouver Wolves came into the playoffs as the number two seed and expectations were definitely higher than losing in the first round. While the series did go seven games and most numbers show the series was a close one, there were some worrying trends for Vancouver that ultimately led to their demise.
 
Third periods
Vancouver played good hockey for two periods. Unfortunately, whenever period three came around, Vancouver forgot how to play offence. With a total of 94 and 99 shots in the first and second periods, respectively, Vancouver only managed a lacklustre 79 in the third. Making matters worse, they failed to hit the back of the net in the third periods across all seven games. Astonishing.
 
Special teams 
Often times, hockey games are won or lost on the special teams and for this series we can certainly say the same. Vancouver’s penalty kill (18.42%) trailed Calgary’s (24.32%) somewhat significantly.
 
Backup goalie 
When league rules are broken, sanctions are expected. When Vancouver failed to play their backup goaltender for at least eight games, the repercussion was that their backup was required to play the first two games of the playoffs. Unfortunately, B-QUE just isn’t an adequate replacement goaltender and his stats showed it with a 0.881 sv% and a 4.00 GAA.
 
Struggling Sophomore
Michael Gary Scott was one of the only Vancouver players who struggled mightily through this series. Expecting big things from this second-year up-and-coming star, MGS only managed a single goal and an assist in seven games. More concerning? The thirty penalty minutes he took. If you’re not contributing while you’re on the ice and you’re putting your team down a man so often, you likely aren’t of much value to your team. 

VSN Writer VanCanWin

Why Each NA team lost in the playoffs 
 
After a season in which their conference was supposed to be incredibly weak, with potentially its top team being only fifth or sixth-best overall, no one would have guessed that one of these teams would have come out on top. Let’s take a look at what went wrong for those who didn’t win and then look at what brought Seattle to glory so soon.

 

 
Calgary 
 
After squeezing past Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs on the back of three goals per game, a power-play running an efficient 24.32% and a penalty kill of 81.58%, Calgary ran in a hot and stingy Seattle defence.  The reasons Calgary lost to Seattle were simple: no one showed up. The stats that back this up are staggering.
 
Offence
In four games, Calgary was shut out twice and managed just a single goal the other two games. Hard to win games when you’re relying on your goaltender to have a shutout in order to win games.
 
Calgary was outshot this series by a tune of 149 to 84.  Not quite doubled up but close enough. I mean, how can the ice be so tilted towards one team and expect this to be a close series. 
 
Defence
Calgary’s defence couldn’t withstand the balanced offensive onslaught Seattle brought highlighted in the first game by seven goals allowed.  
 
As poor as their shots per game were, Calgary leaked an average of 37.25 shots per game. This one is especially difficult it shows that they simply were dominated on the ice and had no defensive answer to the Seattle onslaught.
 
Special Teams
After doing well in the first round, Seattle’s power play turned out to be too hot to handle for Calgary.
 
Individual Play
Brady Stropko 
After scoring nine points in the first round Brady was dominated by Seattle as he registered zero points and a -4 rating.
 
Thorny Underyew
Through the first two games, Calgary’s Thorny Underyew showed his inexperience in the face-off circle as he won just 14 of 60 draws he took. Thorny was kept out of the faceoff circle the rest of the series going just 1 for 4 the final two games.

 

 
Toronto 
 
Toronto had a very intriguing playoff run even if it only lasted four games. They initially made the playoffs against the odds as they were clearly a rebuilding team expected to finish near the bottom of the standings. Toronto was the only team marked as a “sure thing” to not advance to the next round and it was generally thought that they would do well if they just didn’t get swept. Turns out, they ended up being Seattle’s toughest opponent!
 
All the praise for a good series, yet what exactly went wrong for Toronto? They were simply not the better team. 
 
Average Talent (Top 10 skaters)
Toronto’s average player overall of 73.9 was no match for Seattle’s average overall of 77.1 especially considering that just two skaters (Rylan Peace and Tzuyu) have overalls better than the TENTH best skater for Seattle.
 
Third period
Probably the biggest reason Toronto failed to win this series against Seattle was their lack of ability to score timely goals. Out of their fourteen goals scored, just two of them came in the third period. When you are battling in close games, those timely goals are usually the difference.  They couldn’t control the ice in the third as their shots dropped as the game went later whereas Seattle’s shot attempt jumped in the third as they applied the pressure.
 
Depth 
Toronto has a couple of solid players at the top, led by shot machine Rylan Peace. Unfortunately for Toronto, only two players scored more than one goal (Glover and Kai) as the lack of depth shone through. 
 
Unlucky Rylan Peace
Being the lone offensive star on the team, all the players looked to Peace to lead the offensive charge. Rylan did his best firing six shots per game but unfortunately a total of ZERO found the back of the net. Peace led the regular season in shots with 466 but scored at just a 7.51% rate and it seemed this bad luck carried over into this series.


 

 
Vancouver
 
The Vancouver Wolves came into the playoffs as the number two seed and expectations were definitely higher than losing in the first round. While the series did go seven games and most numbers show the series was a close one, there were some worrying trends for Vancouver that ultimately led to their demise.
 
Third periods
Vancouver played good hockey for two periods. Unfortunately, whenever period three came around, Vancouver forgot how to play offence. With a total of 94 and 99 shots in the first and second periods, respectively, Vancouver only managed a lacklustre 79 in the third. Making matters worse, they failed to hit the back of the net in the third periods across all seven games. Astonishing.
 
Special teams 
Often times, hockey games are won or lost on the special teams and for this series we can certainly say the same. Vancouver’s penalty kill (18.42%) trailed Calgary’s (24.32%) somewhat significantly.
 
Backup goalie 
When league rules are broken, sanctions are expected. When Vancouver failed to play their backup goaltender for at least eight games, the repercussion was that their backup was required to play the first two games of the playoffs. Unfortunately, B-QUE just isn’t an adequate replacement goaltender and his stats showed it with a 0.881 sv% and a 4.00 GAA.
 
Struggling Sophomore
Michael Gary Scott was one of the only Vancouver players who struggled mightily through this series. Expecting big things from this second-year up-and-coming star, MGS only managed a single goal and an assist in seven games. More concerning? The thirty penalty minutes he took. If you’re not contributing while you’re on the ice and you’re putting your team down a man so often, you likely aren’t of much value to your team. 

VSN Writer VanCanWin

Congrats @fonziGG!! 

Entering his third season in the VHL, Rob Mattalex’s career to date has been one of varying levels of success. Currently with just 84 points in his first 144 games, Mattalex is looking to take the next step and become a premier forward in this league. Projections have him beginning the season pivoting the top line on Malmo where he should have the opportunity to put up some big numbers. 
 
To date, Mattalex has been primarily a scoring center (42 goals and 42 assists so far in his career) and he will continue to be a dynamic scoring presence along with his continued reliability on the defensive side of the puck. One are he has grown in this offseason has been his passing ability. Something he’s never worked on in his life, he dedicated this offseason to it and is hoping it pays off for him.
 
His individual expectations for this season? Break the 30 goals mark and finish at a point per game pace or higher. 
 
His team expectations for this season? The Continental Cup.

Entering his third season in the VHL, Rob Mattalex’s career to date has been one of varying levels of success. Currently with just 84 points in his first 144 games, Mattalex is looking to take the next step and become a premier forward in this league. Projections have him beginning the season pivoting the top line on Malmo where he should have the opportunity to put up some big numbers. 
 
To date, Mattalex has been primarily a scoring center (42 goals and 42 assists so far in his career) and he will continue to be a dynamic scoring presence along with his continued reliability on the defensive side of the puck. One are he has grown in this offseason has been his passing ability. Something he’s never worked on in his life, he dedicated this offseason to it and is hoping it pays off for him.
 
His individual expectations for this season? Break the 30 goals mark and finish at a point per game pace or higher. 
 
His team expectations for this season? The Continental Cup.

Entering his third season in the VHL, Rob Mattalex’s career to date has been one of varying levels of success. Currently with just 84 points in his first 144 games, Mattalex is looking to take the next step and become a premier forward in this league. Projections have him beginning the season pivoting the top line on Malmo where he should have the opportunity to put up some big numbers. 
 
To date, Mattalex has been primarily a scoring center (42 goals and 42 assists so far in his career) and he will continue to be a dynamic scoring presence along with his continued reliability on the defensive side of the puck. One are he has grown in this offseason has been his passing ability. Something he’s never worked on in his life, he dedicated this offseason to it and is hoping it pays off for him.
 
His individual expectations for this season? Break the 30 goals mark and finish at a point per game pace or higher. 
 
His team expectations for this season? The Continental Cup.

We didn't just order players by last season's point totals, if that's what you are asking.

Getting a members tag making you think you’ve won ?

Getting a members tag making you think you’ve won ?

Getting a members tag making you think you’ve won ?

VHL Top 25 Players
Part II: 25-21
 
Welcome back to Victory Sports News’ ranking of the VHL Top 25 Players. The first part may have left some of you wanting more, as we merely brushed our subject, only presenting you readers with four honourable mentions. Four players that barely missed the list. Today, however, we are jumping straight into said list, starting with the bottom five: players ranked from 25th to 21st.

 
25. Tyler Barabash Jr
 
As a Season 66 prospect, Tyler Barabash Jr just got out of his rookie deal and hit free agency but, since he is the Calgary Wranglers’ GM player, he is expected to sign with the same team with which he spent the first three seasons of his career. He settled as a depth player for a while but had a breakout last season, when he had career highs in literally every statistic. His 31 goals and 77 points ranked first among Wranglers skaters, while his 153 hits placed him behind only Sebastian Ironside for the lead among Wranglers forwards. It’s still unclear what Calgary’s plan is, moving forward, but one thing is clear, Tyler Barabash Jr will come back to the team and odds are he will be their best forward throughout the season, now that Ironside has retired. Another season where he scores north of 30 goals and 70 points shouldn’t be out of the question unless the team’s GM has a plan that doesn’t involve the Canadian centre.
McWolf

 
24. Diljodh Starload
 
It’s always tough to assess the value of players changing position mid-season. Such is the case with Vancouver Wolves recently-acquired forward turned defenseman, Diljodh Starload. The former right-winger had an honest career, before switching position, scoring between 27 and 32 goals in his three full seasons, but only passed the 70-point mark once, in Season 66. Now, Starload has just started regressing, but he looks like he’s in a good place as the Wolves’ top defenseman. If we’re only talking TPA, he’s actually the league’s best defenseman, though we all know that, sometimes, more TPA doesn’t necessarily equate to a stronger impact in the sim. Still, we feel like the polarizing defenseman has the skills to fight for every defenseman award this season, the Sterling Labatte Trophy, the Alexander Valiq Trophy and, to some extent, the Jake Wylde, though the latter often depends on the team situation more than the player himself. He should dangle with the point-per-game mark and he possesses a deadly shot that could help him add his name to the shortlist of modern defensemen that scored 30 goals in a season, though all of this remains unsure, as we have yet to witness the extent of Starload's impact as a blueliner.
McWolf

 
23. Jet Jaguar
 
A true steal at 10th overall for Moscow Menace, Jet Jaguar has been showing why he can be a number one centre for any team in VHL. Even though last season for Jaguar and his team was a bit of a letdown considering they were not able to make the playoffs, he was still able to get 20 goals and 40 assists. He is already developed amazing skills at taking faceoffs and will only be improving for seasons to come. His elite shot and leadership ability show why he is not only the future of Moscow but also the present leader and player that everyone can rally around. I would not expect his young age to be an issue as he will be only improving but that being said, as the talent on his team develops all around him, we could see his production be lower than expected, so for right now, we are putting him at 23. This might very well change because with improved defensive game Jet Jaguar could become one of the best two-way players in the league and even more, with his hybrid production we are looking at someone who could become the best centre of his generation.
FrostBeard

 
22. Joel Ylonen
 
A veteran presence on a young and talented team, Joel Ylonen is a team-first star. Joel has never been a scorer at the VHL level as witnessed by him only having reached the 20 goal plateau once in his five-year career.  Though he doesn’t bury the puck often, Ylonen has many skills that warrant his position on this list. Last season, he reached a career-high with fifty assists which really showcases his biggest asset - his passing.  Elite level passing, accompanied by very strong faceoff skills (58.32% last season) and the defensive acumen that most don’t have, Ylonen fits every description as a team-first, highly-skilled, veteran centre that every team would love to have.  Don’t expect Joel’s numbers to slip this coming season as he looks to eclipse a point per game pace for the entire 72 game schedule. This will be the year he is able to get over that hump and solidify his status as a star player and warrant his place on this list as the 22nd best player in the VHL.
VanCanWin

 
21. Julius Freeman
 
Julius Freeman has had back to back 30-goal, 35-assist campaigns, and there is no reason to expect a drop-off. Vancouver is looking to showcase a top line of Freeman, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and either newly turned forward Denver Wolfe or young up and comer in Michael Gary Scott. Freeman is a very low tier F2, and a high tier F3 to employ into your fantasy lineups. His player could be argued to be a high floor, low ceiling kind of guy, but we here at VSN believe he can take another step and reach the 80 point marker this upcoming season. The only aspect of his game that is lacking is his skating, and even then it is not a huge concern. A 35-goal, 45-assist season for Freeman would be a reasonable expectation to have for this upcoming season, which is why he is ranked at 21.
Matt_O

 
That's five off the list. In the next part, we'll get warmer as we hit the top 20. Let us know-nothing experts what you thought about the placement of these five and try to predict who the next five could be in the comments below.
 
Players mentioned: @Bushito, @DollarAndADream, @DilIsPickle, @gorlab, @Esso2264, @rjfryman, @Beaviss, @iRockstar, @Motzaburger
 
VSN Writer McWolf

VHL Top 25 Players
Part I: Honourable Mentions
 
Hello everyone and welcome to this first edition of Victory Sports News’ ranking of the Top 25 Players currently playing in the VHL. This series is pretty straightforward: VSN experts @Esso2264, @FrostBeard, @Matt_O, @McWolf and @VanCanWin each made their own list of the league's 25 best players at the moment, and we ranked them by their average position throughout the five lists. Let's kick it off with a shortlist of players that some of our experts felt could have made the list but missed by a vote or two.

 
Dan Baillie
 
Dan Baillie had a once in a lifetime opportunity when the Moscow Menace selected him in the expansion draft and it's safe to say he seized it. Even if he's one of the players on this list with the least TPA-heavy build, the Canadian left winger averaged 28 goals and 66 assists per 72 games, over the first 4 seasons of his career, eclipsing the 30-goal and 70-point marks in each of the last 2 seasons. He's been a strong physical presence as well throughout his time in Russia, collecting just short of 600 hits. The only thing going against Baillie this season is the fact that he is entering the wrong half of his career, as he was hit pretty hard by depreciation this past week. That being said, he is still one of Moscow's prime forwards and should still be given enough ice-time to enable him to once again score north of 30 goals and 70 points and amass around 150 hits, which grants him a place as an honourable mention on this list.
McWolf

 
John Frostbeard
 
When Seattle traded for second-year player John Frostbeard they figured to get a core piece they can build their team around. Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to wait for him to develop as he shot out of the gate scoring 37 goals en route to helping Seattle to a championship. Surrounded by more young, elite talent, Frostbeard is at the top of the crop in Seattle.  What he lacks in total TPA compared to other top players on this list, Frostbeard makes up with his build. He’s a scoring winger who’s got the defensive acumen to win him awards on that side of the puck. With passing and puck handling skills much above league average and skating that continues to improve, expect another big year from him. 40 goals would be the bar for him this season with 45 being a very achievable number. Expect him to jump up these rankings by the end of the year but for now, we have him on our honourable mentions list.
VanCanWin

 
Jerry Garcia
 
Jerry Garcia is coming off a career year in almost every single statistic and a Jake Wylde nomination for a top defensive defenseman but faces some challenges this upcoming season. For starters, Malmö's offence has added the likes of Jake Davis and Aleksander Rodriguez, which will lower Garcia's shot block total. On the contrary, both of those totals showed very little movement last season when they added Matt Thompson, so those concerns may be overstated. Malmo also traded for Joseph McWolf, who will take over the #1 Defenseman role. With that being said, Jerry Garcia is a very viable fantasy defenseman, as either a low tier first defenseman or high tier the second defenseman for your fantasy lineups. Pairing with Joseph McWolf will also help Garcia add more to his points total, which could possibly reach as high as 70 this upcoming season. It is a safe expectation for another 60 point season, with 10-15 goals and 45-50 assists, which sets him up for another good season, both on the ice and fantasy-wise.
Matt_O

 
Apollo Hackett
 
Apollo Hackett, an S66 prospect that has been showing great prowess as a two-way defenseman for one of the most consistent teams in VHL, Riga Reign. A turnaround from S67 has been a key reason why Apollo was selected as an honourable mention on this list. While playing in Latvia, Hackett has been able to have amazing defensive numbers. 337 blocked shots and 599 hits put him on the elite level when compared to other members of S66 draft class. We are still not sure if Hackett will be able to increase or at least sustain those point totals considering that we saw a considerable production loss in S67 compared to S66. That is the biggest fear about this young defenceman, was his second season an unlucky coincidence or was it something that we can expect from him going further? 
FrostBeard

 
Come back (hopefully) tomorrow for Part II of the list, where we'll dive straight into the Top 25 Players, covering positions 25 to 21. Feel free to share with us what you think about the placement of these first four players and to share your own lists with us.
 
Players mentioned: @wcats, @FrostBeard, @GustavMattias, @Josh, @Jtv123, @Beketov, @McWolf, @Renomitsu
 
VSN Writer McWolf

In a career defining move, Rob Mattalex has agreed to a new five year deal with Malmo for an annual salary of $4,000,000. This move signals his intent to finish his career where it started. Rob has this to say to the press:
 
”When I first came to Malmo I was unsure and unsettled. I didn’t know the team or the area and it didn’t look like I was a fit on this team due to its immense depth. GM Advantage @Advantage really worked me into the team finding me ice time wherever he could and though I didn’t ace my rookie season I became more comfortable. 

This last season was where it all began to feel like home for me though. The locker room I shared with such an incredible group of guys was such a calming comfort for me and really helped me settle. 
 
Today I wanted to affirm this with my teammates and sign a long term contract to stay here. This is my home and these guys are who I want to be with the rest of my career.”
 
183 words.

Thanks!! Happy to stay in Malmo! 

The S68 playoffs of the VHL just wrapped up and Seattle won in four games over Malmo. Both of these teams failed to make the playoffs in S67, so it’s hard to believe that anyone would have predicted them both to make the finals at the beginning of the year (and to the best of my knowledge no one did predict both correctly). But take a closer look and you will see that neither of these teams were Cinderella stories. Both had good off-seasons, and more importantly good development during the regular season that allowed them to make the jump from sitting out of playoffs to being the last ones left in their conferences. Here is how they stacked up against the rest of the league in terms of TPA growth:

The following graphs show end-of-season S67 team TPA vs end-of-season S68 team TPA (ordered by S68 TPA). Seattle and Malmo may not have led the league in terms of overall TPA, but the growth they got from S67 put them very close. Looking at this another way in terms of percentage growth (see second chart), it’s apparent that no other team had quite the same off-season/regular season as these two. Only three teams saw any amount positive percent growth (thanks expansion) and in terms of net gains, Seattle and Malmo were the only ones that were meaningful. Just really good GMing in a year where many teams were forced to take steps back. Congrats to both teams once again; both deserved to make it far.
 

 

 
 
 

Glad you’re enjoying it buddy! The VHL’s better with you in it! ?

I'll throw my name in. Cant do graphics as I'm not the best with technology but I'm a good speller and I can write decent articles. I'm down to help in any way

I used to be the editor for the VHLM Mag so I’d like to rejoin the new team as a writer, I write once in a while 

I have always enjoyed writing especially when it gives other people the spotlight. My most viewed work is my Team World Almanac with showed my ability to create long form content. While my SBA series Gonzaga Chronicle Series demonstrates my ability to create weekly branded content.
 
Being completely honest my biggest flaw so far has been lack of care of spelling and punctuation. But I am working to correct this and would be thrilled to enter the team helping return VSN to glory!

I like to think I provide quality, consistent, and most importantly branded content that I hope might fit well as a sort of column piece (Just search #music in VHL.com articles for an example), but also I enjoy long form, in depth looks at games (My retrospective on Cleganebowl, for example). I'd be super down for creating some recurring segments, such as my Music of the VHL (linked earlier), but of course could have a different topic if so desired. 
 
Basically, I think I could provide some needed culture with tongue-in-cheek humor that would really round out VSN, and I'd be happy to be considered for this opportunity!